COMPARISON OF SERUM β-HEXOSAMINIDASE ISOENZYME B ACTIVITY WITH SERUM CARBOHYDRATE-DEFICIENT TRANSFERRIN AND OTHER MARKERS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE

We have compared β-hexosaminidase (β-Hex) activity, carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine ammotransferase (ALT) values in serum from male alcoholic patients with the corresponding values in moderate and non-drinking subjects. The total β-Hex activity was 2.5 times higher in the alcoholics than in the moderate drinkers and this increase was mainly due to a 5-fold increase in the activity of the B-isoform of the enzyme. This was expressed as a percentage of the total β-Hex activity and called ‘β-Hex B%’. Strong correlations were found between alcohol consumption (g/day) and β-Hex B% ( r =0.757, P 60g/day. As a single marker of alcoholic drinking, it was markedly more sensitive than MCV and the liver enzymes GGT, AST and ALT, and slightly more sensitive than serum CDT (94 vs 83%). At the CDT cut-off level of 20 U/I, 17/ of the moderate and non-drinkers would have been classified as alcoholic drinkers and 17% of the alcoholics would have been classified as moderate drinkers. Some of these misclassifications were eliminated if the β-Hex B% results were taken into account We suggest that serum β-Hex B% can be a useful and inexpensive laboratory test for alcohol abuse.